The Centre for Trophoblast Research, ten years old today, is helping transform our understanding of the earliest stages of our lives — and in particular, the role of the placenta and interactions between the mother and her unborn child.

Cambridge researchers led by Jenny Morton will this week begin studying sheep that have been genetically modified to carry the mutation that causes Huntington’s disease. The sheep are believed to be the first Merinos to have been imported into the UK from Australia for about 50 years.

How difficult is it to conceive? According to a widely-held view, fewer than one in three embryos make it to term, but a new study from Gavin Jarvis suggests that human embryos are not as susceptible to dying in the first weeks after fertilisation as often claimed.

A faster and more accurate method of identifying which of an individual’s genes are associated with particular symptoms has been developed by a team of researchers from the UK and Saudi Arabia. This new approach could enable scientists to take advantage of recent developments in genome sequencing to improve diagnosis and potential treatment options.

Eating a high fat and high sugar diet when pregnant leads to metabolic impairments in both the mother and her unborn child, which may 'program' them for potential health complications later in life, a study in mice has shown.